Gain control circuit



Jan. 2, 1951 w. Y. PAN "2,536,886

GAIN CONTROL CIRCUIT Filed Sept. 29, 1948 WEN ywl/v PAN ATTORNEY Patented Jan, 2, 1 951 2 ,536,855; *Gm-N'coNTRoycrnor-nrr of Delaware fi a ms- "This invention relates generallyato controllicir- :cuits '2:forradio receivers and 1particularly.;to.-;a

manual: sensitivity control circuit.

' It is. conventional practice; to proviclezcommerx cial: icoi'nmunications receivers and thigh fidelity broadcast receivers with a manual .R1E:;gain.'or sensitivity control circuit. This permits a manual control of the gain- Q'flbneor more of the radiofrequency or intermediate-frequency amplifier stages of the receiver. The purpose'of this gain control 'is to prevent dist'ortion'of the reprodiieid signal when-the voltage swing of the received carrier 'vvav'e'at the control'grid' ofthe tube eaten'ds beyond thelinear portion of the tubecharacteris- "tic relating the control-grid voltage to *the *plate current. 'Conventi'onally, the sn'sitivity of he receiver is controlledbyvaryingthe voltage supplied-to the screen gridof a screen grid radiofrequency or intermediate-frequency, amplifier tube such asatetrode or 'pe'ntode. The term radio-frequency amplifier is meant to. include also an intermediate-frequency amplifier. It is preferred to control the screen 'gridfvoltage' forn taining sensitivity control because "Zthe control grid voltage is usually 'varied byjanauton'iatic volumecontml' v A conventional gain'control circuit'f or'varying the screen"grid'voltage'includes a suitable current source, across which a potentiometer, is connectedwhich hasa movable contact ortap'ior varying'thei screen grid. volt ge. o radio-{freguency'amplifier. This arrangementlhotvever, is uneconomical because when the'movable Contact oithe potentiometer is near its. maximum voltage position; a relatively large currentfin'cluding i the screen grid current passes'through" a small portion of the potentiometer. In orderlto'prevent the potentiometer from becoming o'v'e'r loaded it is necessary to provide a large potentiometer with merge current-carrying capacity? Such af of tentiometer is expensive andrequi'r'es more-space th'a'fi is clesiral'ile. Furthermore; the IR loss: the potentiometer may still develop' a large amount otheat'whicl maysomtime's cause-the locaTbSCillatof-todrift.

It is furthermore desirable that the sensitivity control circuit be electrically'isolated'Ironithe output-circuit of' the controlleda'mplilien an if pedient which is commonly k'nownas decoupl g.

Thus, the sensitivity controlcircu'it should' be decoupledfor radio 4 frequency currents {from the amplifier." output". circuit. 1m addition, the sensi tivity control circuit should: also a'et as 'aififim filter. toxprevent humv -modulation-oi the arlipli fler. .Tlie-directcurrentsource Miicnsuppuesitne .screensgrid .voltage mayin someca ses-he insuflixcientlyrlegulated. Thus; it is also i desirable that "the: total-current required forthe. sensitivity con- ,itrol: circuit be nearly constant in" magnitude rega'rdle'ssof 'thesen'sitivity control setting. lhe 'sc'reent grid current will, of course; vary'cons'id'erablyi when the screen grid voltage =is-chang ed but the current drawn from the source should remain approximately constant. 'It is' the principal o'bject of thepresentinven- :tion therefore, to provide a sensitivity control circuit in which'the amount of the'maximum'current which may flow through a "portion or through the entire potentiometer is reduced, "thereby-to permit a reduction in the sizeand 'cost of: the potentiometer with a consequent saving of space.

AZv further object of the invention is to provides. sensitivity control circuit whose operation v'vill cause a minimum variation o'f the current fiowing through the control circuit therebymaintair'iiii g the current' drain of the source approximately constant. Another object of the invention-isto provide a sensitivity gain control circuit "that is eifectively decoupled irom the amplifier output circuit for radio frequency currents as well 'as for"hu in 'inotliila'tion. "In--accordance with the present invention, a sensitivity control circuit includes a resistor connected -betwen the positiveterminal of a voltage source and the potentiometer and a'further re sistoris connected between the positive terminal of tlie= source and the'variab'letap. Thus, the cur-refit through the potentiometer is reduce-db?) thatflowing'throu'gh"the further resisting "Consequentlyfit' is feasibleto utilize a'smallerand cheaperpotentiometer because the'current' therethroughis considerable reduced. Furthermore the two extra resistors incombination with the decoupling resistor and 'the-"livp ass capacitor-of; the control circuit form anaudio frequency "filter which will-prevent hum modulation-of seamen fier. "The novel features that are-considered characteristicof this invention are set forth with 'particulari ty in theappended claims. "The inventionitself, however, both as to its'organiatioh and method of operation, as vvellas additional objects and advantagesthereof; will-best be" understood: fror'n the following description when readzin connection withthe. accoinpanying-d'rav/ mg"; in::which the single figure is a circuit diagram ofizaiportionfofi a superheterodyne receiver includ ingi'thegain control circuit-ofthe invention;

The acompanying drawing, to which reference is now made, illustrates schematically a superheterodyne receiver including antenna I for intercepting a modulated carrier wave. The wave is impressed through antenna tuned circuit 2 on radio-frequency (RF) amplifier 3 which has its cathode grounded through resistor 4 bypassed for RF currents by capacitor 5. The thus-amplifled Wave is impressed through RF tuned circuit 6 on mixer 1 to which is coupled local oscillator 8. The mixer will convert the received wave to an intermediate-frequency (IF) wave impressed on IF transformer II] which, in turn, is coupled to IF amplifier II. The cathode of amplifier II is grounded through resistor 2 bypassed for IF currents by capacitor l3. The amplified IF wave may be obtained from IF transformer M. and the demodulated Signal may be derived in any conventional manner.

Amplifiers 3 and Il may be pentodes, as illustrated, or tetrodes, that is, screen grid tubes. Thus, the gain of amplifiers 3 and i l which may both be termed radio-frequency amplifiers, may be controlled by varying the voltage appied to their screen grids l6 and H respectively. To this end there is provided a manual gain or sensitivity control circuit. The sensitivity control circuit includes resistors 20, 2| and 22 connected serially between the positive terminal of a suitable source of voltage, indicated at +13, and ground. Resistor 2| is arranged as a potentiometer having a movable contact or tap 23. Resistor 25 is connected in accordance with the present invention between +B and tap 23. The junction point 26 of tap 23 and resistor 25 is connected to screen grids l6 and I! through decoupling resistors 28 and 30 respectively. Preferably, decoupling resistors 28 and 30 are bypassed to ground through capacitors 3i and 32 respectively.

In operation, the current from the positive terminal of the current source, that is, from +B, to the screen grids, will divide between resistor 25 on the one hand and resistor 2i} and the portion of potentiometer 2| between junction point 24 and tap 23 on the other hand. From junction point 26 the current will then fiow through decoupling resistor 28, screen grid l6 and cathode resistor l to ground or through decoupling resistor 30, screen grid ll and cathode resistor |2 to ground. A constant portion of the current will also flow from +13 through resistors 20, 2| and 22 to ground.

Accordingly, regardless of the position of tap 23, only a portion of the current will flow through potentiometer 2i. Thus, when tap 23 is near junction point 24, the voltage of tap 23 will be comparatively high. This high voltage is impressed on screen grids l6 and H and consequen ly a comparatively large screen grid current will flow. Due to the presence of resistor 25 only a portion of this current will flow through the pctentiometer and hence a potentiometer may be used which has less current-carrying capacity and which is less expensive and requires less space. Preferably, the resistance values of resistors 20 and 25 are equal so that approximately one half of the screen grid current flows through resistor 25 and the remainder through resistor 20 and potentiometer 2 Decoupling resistors 28 and 30 with their respective bypass capacitors Si and 32 form a conventional radio-frequency decoupling filter. However, resistors 20 and 25 in conjunction with decoupling resistors 28 and 30 and their respecwhich has a much longer time constant and which will prevent hum modulation from voltage source +B. A further feature of the gain control circuit of the invention is that the total current drawn from voltage source +B is approximately constant regardless of the setting of tap 23. This will considerably reduce the regulation requirements which have to be met by the source +3.

The resistance values of resistors 20 and 25 which may be designated R20 and R25 can be determined by the following formula:

where E is the voltage of source +3 in volts, E50 is the normal operating screen grid voltage of amplifiers 3 or H or both in volts and where Isc is the total normal operating screen grid current of amplifiers 3 or II or both in amperes. R21 designates the resistance of potentiometer 2|. The resistance value of resistor 22 which may be designated R22, may be determined from the following formula:

In the above formula Emin is the minimum screen grid voltage of amplifiers 3 or II for the desired gain control range in volts. The value of resistor 22 determines the minimum voltage which can be applied to the screen grids.

The maximum current flows through potentic-meter 2| when tap 23 is near junction point 24. Under these conditions the maximum current Imax is given by the following formula:

In the above formula Imax is the maximum current flowing through a portion of potentiometer 2|. It will be observed that the current Imax is one half that of a conventional gain control circuit. A reduction of the current through potentiometer 2| by a factor of one half will reduce the wattage of the potentiometer to one quarter.

By way of example, resistors 20 and 25 may each have a resistance of 33,000 ohms while decoupling resistors 28 and 30 may each have a resistance value of 1,000 ohms. Potentiometer 2| may have a resistance value of 50,000 ohms while capacitors 3! and 32 may each have a capacitance of .05 microfarad.

There has thus been disclosed a manual sensitivity control circuit which will reduce the size and the cost of the potentiometer used for controlling the gain of the receiver. Furthermore, the circuit will function as a filter to minimize hum modulation. A further feature of the sensitivity control circuit of the invention is its substantially constant current drain regardless of the sensitivity control setting. Accordingly, a current source may be utilized which has but little regulation. The disclosed circuit may be used for controlling the sensitivity of one or more RF of IF amplifier stages.

What is claimed is:

l. A manual sensitivity control circuit for a radio-frequency amplifier having a screen grid, said circuit comprising a source of potential having two terminals, a first and a second impedance tive capacitors 3| and 32 form a further filter element connected in series arrangement across said terminals, said first impedance element being connected to one of said terminals, a variable tap on said second impedance element, a third impedance element connected between said one of said terminals and said tap to bypass said first impedance element, said tap being connected to said screen grid, whereby the current flowing through said first and said second impedance element is reduced for any position of said tap by that flowing through said third impedance element.

2. A manual sensitivity control circuit for a radio-frequency amplifier having a screen grid, said circuit comprising a source of positive potential having a positive and a negative terminal, a first, a second and a third impedance element connected in series across said terminals, a variable tap on said second impedance element, a fourth impedance element connected between said positive terminal and said tap and in shunt with said first impedance element, said tap being connected to said screen grid, the impedance of said first and fourth element being approximately equal, whereby the current flowing through said first and said second impedance element is reduced for any position of said tap by that flowing through said fourth impedance element.

3. A manual sensitivity control circuit for a radio-frequency amplifier having a screen grid, said circuit comprising a source of voltage having two terminals, a first and a second resistor connected in series between said terminals, a tap manually variable on said second resistor, a third resistor connected between said tap and the junction point between said first resistor and one of said terminals and bypassing said first resistor, a decoupling resistor connected between said screen grid and said tap, and a capacitor connected between said screen grid and the other of said terminals, said first, said third and said decoupling resistor in combination with said capacitor preventing hum modulation, and movement of said tap regulating the voltage supplied to said screen grid without materially changing the total current supplied by said source.

4. A manual sensitivity control circuit for a radio-frequency amplifier having a screen grid, said circuit comprising a source of voltage having a positive and a negative terminal, a first, a secend and a third resistor connected in series between said terminals, a tap manually variable on said second resistor, a fourth resistor connected between said tap and said positive termiiial and in shunt with said first resistor, a decoupling resistor connected between said screen ment'of said tap regulating the voltage supplied to said screen grid without materially changing the total current supplied by said source.

WEN YUAN PAN.

REFERENCES CITED f The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2.173.222 Belar Sept. 19, 1939 v2,358,325 Fyler Sept. 19. 1944 

